Two suns
by Shiratsubasa
Summary: In a world where there is nothing left. Naruto and Sakura are caught inside a time reversal jutsu causing them to go back in time. But will they change the future after meeting their younger selves for better or for worse? TIMETRAVEL. WARNING SPOILERS. this is NOT NARUSAKU.slight naruhina and sasusaku. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T LIKE. I don't want flames. R & R.
1. The end of a nightmare

The end of a nightmare

A nightmare. It had to be one. There wasn't any other explanation. The world I once called home had no living souls any more. I knew that people would die, but I never thought that there would be only two survivors including me. Why did it turn out this way.

"Madara has no more strength left." Naruto said "Why couldn't this happen before everyone died?"

"Naruto..." The pinkette beside him said sadly "I don't know what's happening anymore either. I don't know what to do." she said as she felt her eyes swelling up.

" Neither do I." Naruto sighed. His eyes were as empty as a shell. Not the enthusiastic ones they used to be. He started walking away from Madara's stiff body, when suddenly he sensed Madara's chakra slowly returning. He turned back towards the body immediately.

"SAKURA! GE T AWAY FROM HIM. HE'S STILL ALIVE!" Naruto shouted. Sakura gasped but immediately retreated.

"hehehe" They heard a low giggle from the body. "So... e-even without your s-sage or sennin mode...y-you've learned how to sense chakra." Madara panted, with only one eye open. " I'm definitely not going to let it end this way." He declared, as he struggled to make a one handed seal. "Fuuinjutsu: jikan hanten no jutsu." Just then a blinding silver light blanketed them.

"W-What's going on?" Naruto asked himself as he was beginning to vanish.

ON TRAINING GROUND SEVEN (in the past)

'CRASH'. There was a loud sound of something falling from a great height. A jounin wearing a vest looked up from the orange-covered book he was reading.

" Sakura, could you just check what that noise was all about?" He asked a twelve year old girl who was talking non-stop to a raven haired boy.

"Huh? I guess" she said as she entered into the bushes.

"Kakashi, instead of standing around doing nothing. Can we get some training done for once?" The raven haired boy asked aloofly. " Sakura and that blonde idiot are becoming lazier."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BLONDE IDIOT?!" a boy clad orange said as he got up from the ground he was laying flat on.

"Weren't you supposed to be taking a nap."

"It's impossible when someone mocks the great me!"

"Yeah, yeah. We heard that tons of times . your gonna become hokage and everyone will bow down to you." He said as he averted his eyes. "Something that'll only happen in your dreams, an illusion."

" It's not just an illusion. Someday I _will be _Hokage." He said as he pointed to Sasuke " Then you'll have to admit that I'm better than you."

Sasuke regained his gaze towards Naruto, smiling so faintly, that you couldn't make out "Whatever" he said after a brief pause.

"Now, Now guys. No fighting." Kakashi warned playfully, When suddenly they heard a scream.

"W-Wasn't that Sakura-chan just now?" Naruto asked.

"That was definitely her." Sasuke said as he ran in the direction Sakura went. "What kind of trouble did she get herself into now?"

"H-Hey, wait for me!" Naruto said as he followed sasuke.

"oh dear, What did I do to deserve this?" Kakashi complained and then went after them.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked Sakura as soon as he got there.

"Sasuke-kun" She ran and hugged him with tears in her eyes.

"HEY! what do you think you're doing?" He said as he tried to separate her from himself.

"AAAHH! What are you doing to Sakura-chan TEME. Let go of her." Naruto pointed accusingly.

"IDIOT! she's the one who came at me, not the other way around!" Sasuke said still trying to nudge her.

"Putting that aside, why did you scream Sakura?" Asked Kakashi

"That... behind the bushes..." she said pointing behind her. Sasuke removed the sakura's hands which were clutching his shirt and along with Kakashi and naruto moved towards the bushes.

"W-What... is...this" Naruto asked, his eyes widening with panick as he looked at the two figures laying down on the ground like corpses.

"They're covered in blood and dirt. Makes it seem like they just fought in a war." Sasuke said with slight sarcasm.

"They're so filthy you can't make out what they're faces look like." Kakashi said, and after a brief pause closed his book. "Okay guys, pick them up. We're taking them to the Hospital."

"Huh?! But why us" Asked Naruto

"You don't expect us to keep them here, do you?" Kakashi asked, while naruto blushed in embarassment. "Besides, I've never seen them before so there's a possibility that their not from this village. Well...not that you can make out with those mud-covered faces." He said as he started walking towards the main square of the village.

THE NEXT DAY

"Hello I came to get the DNA tests of the patients I dropped yesterday." said Kakashi

"Yes, hold on a minute please" the nurse said as she checked the records. " Hatake Kakashi-san, right?"

"That's right." Kakashi eye-smiled

"Geez, why are we doing this." Naruto complained.

"Stop being a baby, it's our responsibility." Said Sakura clearly annoyed **' Shannaro! Naruto-baka will never mature.'** fumed Inner Sakura. Sasuke just stayed quiet on the side lines.

"Here it is!" the nurse at the counter exclaimed "Okay, it seems that they're two shinobi of this village."

"So, They're from this village afterall." Kakashi said to himself. "What are their names?"

"Let's see...it seems that their named Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura." She looked towards Kakashi "Do you perhaps know them?"

Kakashi stared wide-eyed at the nurse " Are you sure that that's their names?"the rest of team kakashi were astonished.

"Yes, Why?" The nurse blinked.

"That's impossible! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! There can't be another person with that name in konoha!"

"Well, I'm sorry but it says right here that the blood is 100% compatible for the both of them." The nurse said confused.

Kakashi was about to tell her that she must be mistaken and that she should take the DNA test once again. But before he could they heard a loud voice.

"Please, CALM DOWN!" a female voice...probably a nurse said "You are still injured, you should take rest."

"CALM DOWN? how can we?" The patient said

"I'm sorry we're causing so much trouble, but, could you please tell us our location at the moment?" Another female voice said "He's just tired and confused, he doesn't mean any harm."

"W-Well, we are right now in konoha." The nurse replied.

"Konoha?" The male voice repeated "But ..." before he could finish a nurse barged into the room

"WHAT'S ALL THE RUCKUS? KEEP YOUR VOICES LOW, THIS IS A HOSPITAL FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

" Ah! thank god you came! they're just not listening to me."

"Is there something wrong?" Asked kakashi as he revealed himself infront of the two teenagers in the hospital room.

"No way..." The blonde boy said in disbelief.

"Kakashi...sensei?" The pink haired kunoichi asked sceptically scared.

"Hmmm? sensei?" He asked as he turned to the source of the voices. But whatever he was expecting to see it was not a teenage version of two of his students.

"Naruto...and... Sakura?" He asked with his gradually widening eyes.

"It is you sensei" Sakura concluded happily.

"Don't be fooled Sakura.." Naruto said as he put his left arm in front of her preventing her to go forward. " You and me both saw him die right in front of us that day. Skura's bright face turned sober.

"Dead? Me?" Kakashi asked in disbelief "What would make you think that?"

"Like I said..." Naruto said becoming irritated " I saw you die in battle." Naruto clenched his fists.

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered sadly.

" So can _you_ tell me the meaning of this, _Kakashi sensei_ ?" Naruto asked sarcastically.


	2. Reunion

Reunion

_'So can you tell me the meaning of this kakashi-sensei?'_

"Huh?" Kakashi blinked "Um...Excuse me, nurse, are these the people we dropped here yesterday?" He pointed at them.

"Yes, why?" The nurse from the counter answered

"No...it's nothing" Kakashi said as he stared at the duo who were still on a rampage...well one of them was. He paused for a while.

"Alright, That's ENOUGH, both of you." Kakashi raised his was slightly, surprising the two. " You two are coming with me to the hokage tower."

"What? Why?" The 17-year old blonde asked.

"Because, I said so. Now quick! Before my students get here!" Kakashi said

"Eh? But -" Older Sakura started, but was cut off.

"Kakashi sensei?" Naruto called out

"Did something happen sensei?" Sakura said peeking inside the room until her eyes wandered onto the two patients inside " Eh? Are those the people we admitted yesterday?" Sakura asked revealing herself.

Sasuke slowly walked to show himself as well, but the the minute he did his eyes widened _'their faces.'_ He thought.

"Huh? what are you two looing so surprised for?" Naruto asked. Sakura got a vein popping out of her forehead that instant. She was really surprised and didn't really want to ruin such a serious moment, But... THERE'S A LIMIT TO HOW STUPID HE CAN GET! SHANNARO!

Sakura grabbed naruto's head and twisted it towards the older look alikes, causing it to make a cracking sound. "NARUTO! I can't believe your stupid enough to not see that your possible TWIN is RIGHT INFRONT OF US!"

"ow..ow..ow...Sakura chan my neck...you're hurting it!" Naruto said as he struggled. Sakura finally let go of Naruto's head, exahing through her nose like a bull as well as making the grunting sound.

"Urgh.." Kakashi exclaimed as he covered his barely seen face with his left hand "Why do these things always happen to me?" He said as he started rubbing his temples to ease the throbbing of his head.

"Sasuke...kun?" Older Sakura asked taking a few steps backwards and covering her mouth.

"Sasu...ke?" Naruto said surprised,relieved, confused, sad and happy all at the same time.

"What?" Sasuke asked without thinking, but then it struck him..._'why do they know my name?' _Sasuke opened his mouth to ask him but was interrupted when Kakashi came and stood in front of his viewing point.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked glaring at Kakashi.

"Now, Now Sasuke, there's no need to give such a scary look. I just want to discuss something with them." Kakashi said

"Kakashi sensei, Why do they look so much like us? I smell something fishy." said Naruto with squinted eyes.

**'Gee thanks for sharing that little piece of information with us captain obvious!' **said inner sakura.

"I'm going to find that out soon so just wait outside for a bit." Kakashi eye smiled and then shoved them out to close the door. As soon as the students and nurses were all out of the door, Kakashi locked it from the inside.

"So...Naruto, Sakura...how did you manage to use a difficult technique like the Jikan Hanten no jutsu?"

"Eh? what are you talking about?" Asked the older Naruto obliviously

"You should have noticed by now...that both of you have time travelled to the past using a time reversal technique." Kakashi said with hard eyes.

"So that's why...I thought it was strange to see konoha rebuilt so quickly!" Sakura gasped.

"Rebuilt?" Kakashi asked a little confused "Did something happen?"

"N-No, it's nothing!" Sakura hurried to assure him.

"Anyway, Kakashi sensei...about the jutsu it's not us that used it!" Naruto told him

" You didn't? Then who did?" asked Kakashi

Outside the door team 7 were trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"I can't here anything!" complained Naruto

"Move out of my way Naruto!" Sakura commanded as she elbowed naruto's face.

Sasuke's ear was pressed against the door as well trying to listen in on the conversation taking place. But with those two noisy idiots there, how could he?

Inside the room Kakashi and the older two sweat dropped at how obvious it was that they were trying to listen in on their conversation.

"I think it'll be better if we if we directly went to the hokage tower, don't you"? Kakashi asked them with a smile. Older Naruto and Sakura said nothing but just nodded.

"Good." Kakashi said, satisfied "Follow me."

Kakashi escaped the hospital room through the window with Naruto and Sakura following him, still in their hospital clothing.

"do you believe him, Naruto?" Sakura whispered on their way to the tower.

"What's there _not_ to believe?" Naruto whispered back "Besides you heard Madara when he cast the jutsu!"

Sakura made an unreadable expression and then averted her gaze from naruto.

"Okay, stop here" Kakashi said halting.

"What happened?" Naruto asked

"You don't _really_ expect going inside the tower like that do you?" Kakashi said "People inside the tower _all_ know _who _Uzumaki Naruto is."

"Well, what do you expect me to do?"

"You're old enough to know what the transformation jutsu is for."

"Eh?" Naruto stared blankly at him for a little while before smirking "Yeah, I know all right!" He said as he made a seal and then transformed. After the smoke due to the transformation cleared out, it revealed a woman, probably 28 years old with long brown hair and green eyes.

"So?" Naruto said as he made pin-up pose "What do you think?"

"NARUTO..." A familiar female voice said with irritation. Naruto turned around slowly, sweating.

"Y-Yes...?" He said a little (lot) afraid.

"Take this SERIOUSLY!" Sakura said, looking about ready to pummel him into the next elemental nation. Naruto closed his eyes and guarded his face with his fore arms, waiting for a punch, But the only thing he heard was a 'poof' sound. When he opened his eyes sakura was transformed into a 6 year old girl with short blonde hair and green eyes.

"W-Why a little girl?" Naruto asked

"No one would suspect a cute little girl with innocent eyes, now would they?" said Sakura smirking slyly. Kakashi nodded to approve both their transformations.

"Okay, now, follow my lead" Kakashi said as he started walking up the stairs and through the door of the hokage tower. By the time they were all walking through the corridor, they bumped into the Sandaime attendant.

"Oh, Kakashi-san! What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"Just here to discuss something with Sandaime-sama" Kakashi said smiling.

"I see..." She said slowly as her eyes wandered to the back of Kakashi "And who are the two behind you?"

"Oh, Just some acquaintances." Kakashi replied to her question

"Really? They're both very beautiful!" She said as she knelt down to Sakura's eye level "You must be very proud to have such a pretty mother."

"Eh? But she's not -" Naruto started, but Sakura caught hold of his knee-length skirt, signalling him to stop talking.

"Yeah" Sakura smiled "She's really kind, and cooks well too!" She lied

"That wonderful!" The attendant smiled, but then looked at her watch "I would have really liked to talk some more, but duty calls." She said as she walked passed them waving a goodbye.

"Well, you acted your part perfectly, Sakura." Kakashi said after the attendant left.

"Thanks, I've gotten a lot better at lying." Sakura said proudly.

"You, on the other hand..." Kakashi said turning his head towards Naruto "You still need to improve."

"Eh?" Naruto said, but realized what he meant after a moment "Wha-What do you mean by that?" He growled

"I mean exactly what I said" Kakashi said walking towards the hokage's office and not bothering to turn back.

As soon as Kakashi reached in front of the office, he gave a knock on the door.

"Enter" Said an old voice which Naruto and Sakura knew all too well. Feeling a little nostalgic and half-heartedly nervous about seeing him, the still gave Kakashi a nod to open the door. Kakashi opened the door to reveal Sandaime holding a few documents in hand.

"Oh, Kakashi! perfect timing. I was just about to request your presence." Said the old hokage.

"Excuse me for interrupting hokage-sama, but now isn't really the time." Kakashi said bowing signifying an apology. "You see there's something that I need to discuss with you. And it involves those two." he said motioning to Naruto and Sakura. As soon as Sakura closed the door and locked it she released her henge with Naruto imitating her.

As soon as the smoke cleared out, Hiruzen's eyes widened.

"Kakashi, what is the meaning of this?" Hiruzen asked, his eyes still wide with surprise.

"Hokage-sama, I know you weren't called a professor and the smartest of the hokage for nothing." Kakashi said. "These two are the older versions of two of my students."

"Yes, I know" Sandaime sighed after a pause. "They used the time-reversal jutsu didn't they?"

"As expected!" Kakashi smiled "you knew all along." He said childishly

"But how did you use it?" Hiruzen asked "To use this jutsu, you need to store up a special amount of chakra within a place behind the fore head, for years."

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked genuinely surprised, he didn't know such a fact.

"Yes, and it looks to me that you both are still very young." He continued "Did someone else use this jutsu?"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama." Sakura answered "The person who used it is named Madara Uchiha."

"Madara Uchiha?" asked Sandaime with widened eyes for the second time today "Isn't he dead?"

"No, he was revived with reanimation jutsu created by the second hokage."

"This is a problem. Now we have two Madara's running free." The Sandaime sighed as he massaged his forehead.

**'Kid, it's me, Kurama. I need to talk to you.'** said the free loader residing in Naruto's body.

As soon as Naruto heard Kurama's voice he opened his mouth to speak for the first time since he entered the office.

"Excuse me, my _resident_ wants to speak for a while." Naruto said emphasizing on the word resident. Naruto's eyes immediately went pale.

"Resident? is he -" Sandaime started

"He speaking with Kurama-san, the kyuubi." Sakura answered before Hiruzen completed the question.

"I see, so you know about the nine-tails."

"It's safe to say that everyone in the future knows about the kyuubi now." Sakura said

"And...you don't detest him for it?" Hiruzen asked skeptically. Sakura shook her head.

"No, because, he worked hard and proved to all of us that he isn't a monster, but that he is Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure no sato." She said with a gentle smile.

"Is that so." Hiruzen said with a relieved chuckle. "I'm glad."

INSIDE NARUTO'S MIND

Drip...Drip...Drip...

As soon as Naruto opened his eyes he found himself in a sewer and in front of a gate. Naruto moved towards the gate and went through it.

"What's up, Kurama. Why'd you call me?"

**' Naruto, you remember when Uchiha Madara used that jutsu right.'**

"Yeah...what about it?"

**'That jutsu is supposed to kill everyone around the person who uses the jutsu, except the person himself.'**

"Eh? But, I'm still -"

**'you're still alive because I covered you and pinky with my chakra, thus as a result you came back in time as well.'**

"But old man hokage didn't say anything about death!"

**'that's because no one has ever lived to tell about it!' **Kurama sighed

"Oh..." Naruto said looking at his feet

**'But that's not the reason I called you for'** Kurama said

"Then, Why _did_ you call me?" Naruto asked curiously

**'When I covered you two with chakra, another person barely escaping death tangled in as well.'**

"Wait! Then that means-"

**'That's right it means that either one of your friends... or foes are still alive.'**

Naruto immediately smiled at the possibility of one of his friends still being alive. But when he realized that it might be one of his enemies his smile disappeared as soon as it appeared.

"Thanks, Kurama, I'm really glad you're my friend." Naruto smiled

Kurama stared at him blankly for a while and pretended to go to sleep but then replied with a low 'whatever' which made Naruto's slight smile into a huge grin.

"Well, I'm returning to reality now." Naruto said and then took his leave.

IN THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE

Color returned to Naruto's eyes.

"Talks with Kurama are relieving and exhausting at the same time." Naruto sighed once his consciousness returned.

"What'd he say, Naruto?" Sakura asked him after a minute.

"He said that the effects of the jutsu kills everyone within the vicinity, except the person who casts it." Naruto replied "The only reason we're alive is because Kurama coated us with his chakra to neutralize that effect."

"The nine-tails did?" Kakashi asked "Who would've thought that _that_ beast would do such a thing?"

"Kurama has changed a lot since then. He's now my friend." Naruto grinned

"Is that so..."

"But either way we've got a problem." Naruto said, his expression growing dark.

"What happened?" Hiruzen asked

"You see, Kurama told me that by mistake another person from the battle was coated and protected by his chakra."

"I see.." Said Hiruzen "It would be quite beneficial if it was an ally, but the exact opposite if it isn't."

"What do we do now, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked

"For now remain in a transformation, with your _correct_ genders please, and that applies to _you _Naruto!" Hiruzen said focusing his gaze on the former prankster.

"Jiji, Have you lost your faith in me?" Naruto asked with comical tears falling down his cheeks like a waterfall.

"In these kind of cases, I never had any to begin with." Hiruzen replied calmly, at that moment a few invisible arrows stabbed Naruto. Seeing Naruto's troubled face, the kind old man chuckled.

"I'm just kidding, Naruto." He finally said, Hearing that relieved naruto.

"Anyway, there's something I've been meaning to ask you both." Kakashi said interfering.

"What is it?" Sakura asked

"When I first saw you in the hospital, you said something about me being dead." Kakashi said noticing how pale his students' faces went "What happened in the future?"

"Um..." Sakura hesitated, seeing this the hokage decided to ease her tension.

"You don't have to worry, this is a parallel world. Once you defeat Madara you can go back to your own time and we won't remember anything that happened. This state of mind is only temporary."

"Really...?" Sakura said still hesitating to speak but talked anyway "Everyone, including you Kakashi sensei, were torn apart by the fourth great ninja war."

"There is going to be ANOTHER war?!" Kakashi asked not really favoring the idea.

"Yeah, and in that war..." Naruto started as he clenched his fists. "I guess... we could say... that I thought Sakura and I were the only survivors, that is until just now."

"So... everyone died?" Hiruzen asked sighing.

"The civilians are still safe and are residing in Konoha." Naruto hurried to say "But... the shinobis all died." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Naruto." The Third said " War always ends with results like these. Except...there have never been only two survivors."

"And once we return to the future it'll be worse." Said Sakura looking like she'd cry.

"oh, You don't have to worry about that!" The hokage said laughing. This action surprised the three standing in front of him.

"W-what do you mean?" Naruto asked

The Sandaime smiled gently " If you defeat Madara over here, it'll be like he never caused any damage over there."

"Wait, so that means..." Sakura said with hope overflowing in her eyes.

"That's right, everyone will be alive, once you go back."

Sakura's eyes filled with tears of joy. And Naruto looked towards the ground.

"In that case... we better make sure that there's no trace of Madara left!" Naruto smiled victoriously.

"That's only _if_ you defeat him." Kakashi reminded Naruto "Not to mention that there's two of them to deal with."

"I won't let that get me down." He declared "It's decided! Madara's going to hell."

Sakura stared at Naruto in awe _'His eyes! they're back to his childish color.'_ She thought as a smile spread across her face.

"Well, for now, just keep a transformation." Hiruzen said shattering the mood "Kakashi told me that his students already saw your faces. So tell them the truth, they're not stupid they'll know we're hiding something from them."

Kakashi nodded "Don't worry, I'll tell them the next time I see them."

"Good now, you're dismissed." He said ending the discussion

BACK IN THE HOSPITAL (a little while back)

"You know, I haven't heard anything for quite a while now." Naruto said. Just then it hit Sakura.

"Wait you don't think -" She was cut off when Sasuke kicked the door open.

"Don't surprise us like that, teme!" Naruto yelled at him. Sasuke, ignoring Naruto's comment, scaned the room with his eyes.

"Just as I thought, They're not here." He declared.

"Huh?" Naruto said as his eyes mapped the room as well "HOLY SHIT! WHERE THE HELL DID THEY DISAPPEAR TO?!"

"DON'T CURSE SO LOUDLY!" Sakura said hitting him.

"Owww..."

"They escaped through the window." Sasuke said ignoring Naruto cry of pain.

"As expected of you Sasuke kun! you noticed right away." Sakura said in an innocent manner.

Sasuke ignored her and jumped out of the window.

"S-Sasuke kun! wait for me." Sakura said following his lead

"S-Sakura chan don't leave without me!" Naruto said going after her.

AFTER 10 MINUTES

"Where are they?" Naruto asked. Sasuke ignored Naruto's stupid question and ran in a random direction with sakura and Naruto following him, when he bumped into something soft right around the corner and fell backwards, but still managing to stay on his feet.

"Oh? Sasuke-kun?" a voice said "What are you doing here?" Sasuke looked at the person owning the voice. He'd seen her before...if he remembers correctly, that's the hokage's attendant.

"We're searching for Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said voicing Sasuke's thoughts.

"Yeah, but we can't find him anywhere!" Naruto continued.

"Huh? If you're talking about Kakashi-san. I bumped into him a little while ago in the hokage tower." She said as she pointed towards the building.

"Thanks!" Naruto said immediately as he ran past the hokage's assistant and towards the tower with Sasuke and Sakura.

"What was that about?" The assistant wondered as she looked at their retreating backs.

As soon as they reached the tower they went to the Hokage's office. Naruto reached for the handle but before he could even touch it, the handle moved and the door opened to reveal Kakashi.

"Huh? Naruto? What are you doing here?" He asked the short blonde."I see you two are here as well" he said looking at Sasuke's and Sakura's scowling faces

"Kakashi sensei! How DARE you leave us in the hospital like that!" He accused.

"Well, it's a good thing you're here!" Kakashi said completely ignoring his accusation.

"Don't ignore me!" Naruto yelled

"You see, these two..." He said motioning towards the two behind him "are your future selves"

"Eh?" Naruto and Sakura both chorused. While Sasuke...well... let's just say he was really surprised.


	3. A troblesome ally

_'these two are your future selves'_

"Eh?"

"Now, meet me on training ground nine." Kakashi said smiling, as he made a hand seal and disappeared.

"K-Kakashi-sensei?!" The older blonde exclaimed, but then noticed he was being stared at. He looked over to his younger self and smiled awkwardly, the younger blonde returned the (very) awkward smile.

That was it! Older Naruto couldn't take it anymore, the tension can rise up to only so much! He immediately made the seal for the shunshin and disappeared as well with sakura imitating him.

ON TRAINING GROUND 9 

Older Naruto and Sakura appeared in a gust of wind.

"You learned the shunshin then?" Kakashi asked a few seconds later not looking up from his book.

"We picked it up, after watching you run away every time you had to pay for our meals." Sakura said as she crossed her arms in annoyance.

"I can imagine that. After all, it's not fair that the adults always have to pay for their kids' meals." Kakashi said with light amusement.

_'We're not your kids!' _Naruto thought, his left eyes twitching.

"Putting that aside" He said mostly to himself, Kakashi just glanced at him. After telling them that so bluntly, you left us there on purpose, didn't you?" Naruto asked accusingly.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Kakashi said suspiciously averting his eyes from his student. Even if he had a mask on, the amusement on his face was as visible as open as the book in his hand.

"Liar. You're getting a total kick out of this aren't you?" Naruto said, his eyes squinted

"Maybe." Kakashi chuckled.

"Don't 'maybe' me." Naruto muttered under his breath which was followed by a silence "DON'T IGNORE ME EITHER!".

"Kakashi-sensei, if you don't mind me asking, how long ago did our younger selves pass your test?" Sakura said cutting Naruto off.

"We became a team around a week ago." Kakashi said simply.

"Is that so...?" Sakura said _'That means that we didn't even finish the mission to wave yet!'_

Once again an uncomfortable silence took place. Naruto picked that time to have a horrifying thought strike him.

"OH NO!" Naruto suddenly shouted, making Sakura and Kakashi jump.

"W-What happened?" Sakura asked, her eyebrow's twitching.

"Well..." Naruto said nervously "What are we gonna talk to them about?"

"Well, for starters we'll..." Sakura started confidently but then trailed of "we will... well! _you'll_ think of _something_ to break the ice..." She finished "I hope" she finally muttered under her breath.

"Sakura..." I Naruto's shoulders slumped "I'm not that reliable..." He said gloomily.

Just then they saw 3 figures coming their way. As the figures got closer and closer Older Naruto's and Sakura's eyes widened.

"Oh no. W-What do we do?" Sakura said having a pale smile on her face. She was so obviously nervous that it's not even pathetic.

"N-No, more importantly..." Naruto started sweating vigorously.

_'WHAT DO WE SAY?!' _both 17-year-olds continued the thought while magically sharing what they were thinking with each other.

"Sakura! You're good with speeches!" Naruto said as he quickly hid behind Sakura. "Why don't you think of something?" A drop of sweat rolled down from his forehead.

"I-Idiot, that's _formal_ _speeches_ that I conduct on behalf of the hokage!" Sakura said as if this reasoned everything. " It would be too weird to speak to _myself _ formally."

"It's the same thing to me!" said Naruto desperately

"It's not to me!" Sakura said sweating furiously

While Older Sakura and Naruto were fighting like five year olds, Kakashi on the sidelines glanced at them _' And here I thought that they've matured incredibly.' _He sweat-dropped _'I guess some things will never change.'_ He thought as he sighed and shook his head to get rid of that thought.

He then walked towards the younger 3 who had arrived.

"You took longer than expected." Kakashi said not bothering to look up from his book "I suppose I'll take Sasuke's advice and make a training regimen." He said somewhat evilly but at the same time the bored expression on his face did not disappear.

"W-What is this feeling of dread I'm getting?" Younger Naruto asked getting paler by the second

"I-I don't know, b-but somehow I-I'm feeling it too." Younger Sakura replied. Even though Sasuke didn't show it, he too was feeling a little nauseating. Younger Naruto, just then shook his head furiously to shake that fear out of his head.

"No, right now I have to stay focused." He said mostly convincing himself.

"Kakashi! Who are those people exactly?" Sasuke asked out of nowhere, and Younger Naruto immediately glared at him.

"Don't steal my line! I was gonna ask that." Naruto said with his fists clenched in front of him.

"Yeah, Yeah" Sasuke said sarcastically, Naruto growled.

"AARGH! you make me so MAD!" Y. Naruto(I think 'Y' is an obvious short form :/) said on the verge of tearing his hair right of his head in annoyance.

"Oh really?" Sasuke asked smirking "In that case it's a job well done."

Naruto was furious, but his conscience kicked him in the gut telling him to FOCUS! Naruto turned his head away from Sasuke and then opened his mouth to speak.

"So? Who are they sensei?" Asked a voice, but...it wasn't Naruto's. Naruto looked towards Y. Sakura with comical tears in his eyes. _'Sakura-chan as well?' _ He thought sadly to himself _'Why are they speaking out of turn?'_ Even though he thought this, Naruto shook off that thought and began speaking, this time, UNinterrupted.

"Yeah...what she said." Y. Naruto said motioning towards Sakura. Kakashi blinked.

"Didn't I already tell you? They're yours and Sakura's future selves." He replied to them. All 3 genin looked at him questioningly. Kakashi sighed. "In other words they're from the future."

"Oh..." Naruto and Sakura chorused in understanding, but then they're eyes widened, Sasuke's eyes also widened slightly.

"WHAT?" Naruto and Sakura yelled.

"W-What do you mean?!" Naruto asked hurriedly.

"Well that -" Kakashi started

"How did this happen?!" Sakura asked cutting him

"That's because -" Kakashi tried to answer again.

"NEVERMIND! I'll just go ask them myself!" Naruto said as he walked past Kakashi.

"Me too" Sakura replied following him.

Kakashi immediately went into a 'negative' state, and slowly started sinking into a black hole that had appeared out of nowhere from the ground.

"Kakashi, I advise you to stop that because I'm not pulling you out." Sasuke said as he too walked past Kakashi, who was having comical tears running down his eyes.

"So, you're supposed to be an older me?" Y. Naruto said to O. Naruto

"Y-Yeah...what about it?" O. Naruto said awkwardly as Y. Naruto examined him from head to toe.

"No, it's just that..." Naruto crossed his arms and thought deeply about what he'd say next. Even Y. Sakura was anxious.

"I'VE TURNED OUT SOOO COOL!" Y. Naruto said victoriously "I'M EVEN TALLER THAN SAKURA CHAN!"

Sakura, (with absolutely no hesitation) hit him on the head.

"That's what you wanted to say?" Sakura said as she held in her exploding annoyance/anger. "Never mind, I don't want to hear the answer." Sakura sighed and said almost immediately after.

"Sakura chan..." Naruto said as he rubbed the bump on his head to ease the pain. "Why do you always hit me and not Sasuke?"

"Because he never acts like an idiot and annoys me!" Sakura replied with a glare.

"heh" Sasuke smirked behind Naruto. Naruto's vein was popping out so much that it was clear that he was annoyed.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT TEME?!" Naruto yelled

"At your stupidity." Sasuke said coolly.

" ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A FIGHT?" Naruto asked threateningly

"Isn't that what you're doing?" Sasuke asked returning the glare

O. Naruto and Sakura who continued watching this felt pleasant prick, and without noticing, O. Sakura's eyes were filled with tears that streamed down her cheeks. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at O. Sakura dumbfounded.

"W-W-W-Why are you crying, Sakura?" O. Naruto asked, obviously freaked out since he hadn't seen her cry for a very long time.

"W-What?" Sakura touched her cheeks which were wet with her tears. "I'm...crying?" Sakura asked herself as if she couldn't even imagine that fact. She quickly covered her face with her hands, embarrassed that she'd once more reduced to a cry baby. O. Naruto looked at her carefully with a (rare) serious face.

"I know how you feel!" O. Naruto suddenly said as he crossed his hands behind his head "It's so nostalgic isn't it, Sakura?" O. Naruto asked grinning at her.

_'Naruto...'_ O. Sakura looked at him in awe and immediately wiped her tear covered face _'That's right... Naruto as well... he must be feeling the same thing I am right now.'_ Her eyes drifted towards the raven haired boy _'Because we are once more reunited with this Sasuke-kun... the precious friend we've been yearning to be with for all these years. And yet... even though these many years have passed... Why am I still such a dead weight? Why am I always the one being protected?' _O. Sakura clenched her fists in frustration but masked her face with a smile.

"Sorry, it's just like what Naruto said." Her face became somber "It's just so nostalgic. I guess I became a little emotional." Everyone (except O. Naruto) looked at her with unconvinced faces but decided to leave it at that and not ask any more of that topic.

"If you say so..." Y. Naruto said "Anyway, can you show me any new techniques that I learned." Y. Naruto asked desperately "I mean I should have learnt a few new tricks, right?"

"Yeah, lots of stuff!" O. Naruto grinned

"REALLY?" He asked excitedly "Can you teach them to me?"

"Nope" O. Naruto said, the smile still remaining on his face

"Why not?" Y. Sakura asked, Sasuke too was a bit curious

"Because, if I teach myself those techniques..." He said crossing his arms " Then you won't meet the people who taught them to me, right?" The 3 genin were obviously confused.

"Because of such a reason...?" Sasuke commented softly. Y. Sakura was drawn by his voice and looked at him for a while, and then looked at O. Naruto, and then her older self and then a thought struck her.

"Um...excuse me?" Y. Sakura said as everyone turned their heads towards her " There's something that's bothering me..."

"Huh? What is it?" O. Sakura asked

"Well..." She hesitated a bit "Where's Sasuke-kun?" She finally asked. Older Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened in horror. _'O-Oh no! What do I say? Sasuke-kun betrayed us and now he's dead?!'_ At that moment O. Naruto felt a presence behind O. Sakura.

"Sakura! Duck!" It wasn't a request, it was an order. Even though Sakura has pride, she still obeyed. O. Naruto swiftly launched a few kunai into the bushes a few feet away from O. Sakura, and as he expected, the person hiding in the bushes used the replacement jutsu and appeared right behind him. The man was wearing a long worn-out cloak with a hood to cover his face. Naruto bent down and sliced the air trying to trip the man, but the man dodged by jumping and landed safely after a magnificent back flip. O. Naruto didn't wait for the man to recover and tried to attack by punching.

"Wait a minute Naruto!" The man said holding his hands in front of him, signalling O. Naruto to stop his attack "It's me!" Naruto immediately recognized the voice and stopped his fist that was about an inch away from the man's face from attacking. The man couldn't help his weakened legs and fell of balance, landing on his bottom.

"Eh? That voice..." O. Naruto said as his eyes widened. The man's hood which was loose fell of his head to reveal his face.

"SH-SHIKAMARU?!" Older Naruto and Sakura yelled in a mixture of shock and relief.

_"SH-SHIKAMARU?!"_

Young Naruto and Sakura, as well as Sasuke had widened eyes.

Shikamaru sighed "Could you _not _shout my name out loud as if you just saw a ghost? Geez you two are so troubleso-" O. Naruto cut him off by glomping him.

"It's been so long Shikamaru!" O. Naruto exclaimed

"That great and all...but...could please get of me?" Shikamaru asked in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, sure...sorry." Naruto said scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Shikamaru, once more sighed.

"I get it! So you're the person who time travelled along with us by mistake!" O. Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

"Wait... you already knew?" Shikamaru asked genuinely surprised.

"No... all we knew is that _someone_ Travelled back in time with us."O. Naruto clarified

"Oh... so you didn't know it was me. That makes more sense." Shikamaru said in understanding. Naruto's forehead formed a tick mark.

_'I don't know why, but I have a feeling that he's making fun of me!' _ O. Naruto thought in irritation.

"Anyway, Naruto!" Shikamaru said and then turned his head towards O. Sakura "Sakura!" O. Sakura's face perked up hearing her name.

"This might sound a little shocking to you..." Shikamaru said closing his eyes "but I'm not the only one who came back with you."

"W-What?!" O. Naruto and Sakura, as predicted by Shikamaru, were shocked. The younger team 7, as well as Kakashi also seemed interested.

"He was in a near-death state when he came along for the ride." Shikamaru said as he dug his hands in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper "He's resting here." Shikamaru said as he gave O. Naruto a map. "Meet me there at 11 a.m. sharp."

After that Shikamaru disappeared in a gust of wind.

"Wait! hold on a sec-" Naruto called after him but stopped and stared at the map in his hands.

_'Someone else time travelled along with the us? But who?'_


	4. Stepping stone

**I've been busy with extra classes and doing beta work for a firend. But I managed to update quickly in my opinion. I hope this chapter is long enough, because I got some complaints of my chapters being too short. Well, enjoy :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters, but I do own this fanfic.**

* * *

_'I'm not the only one that came back along with you.'_

_'Someone else time-travelled along with us? But who?'_

HOKAGE TOWER

"What? Shikamaru was the person that came back along with you?" Asked the Hokage to make sure that he heard correctly. Older Sakura and Naruto nodded in approval.

"Isn't that good then? At least it isn't an enemy." Said the Hokage

"We know that! We're glad that it's Shikamaru." Said Naruto "But the funny thing is that, he said someone else came back in time along with us as well."

"Not to mention that right after saying this, he gives Naruto a map, tells him to show up at a particular place and at a particular time, and then disappears!" Sakura explained.

"Hmm.." Hiruzen thought out loud "Well, for now, I think it's best that you meet him at the mentioned time and place. We'll see what comes next."

"Understood!" The seventeen-year-olds chorused. Hiruzen rubbed his chin.

"But still, I'm surprised Naruto grows manners." He said without thinking

"Wha-?!" Naruto exclaimed "Is it that hard to believe I've matured a even a little bit?!" Naruto sulked. Hiruzen simply laughed.

"Of course not" Hiruzen smiled as his eyes wandered to the left side of his office.

" Anyway, Kakashi..." Hiruzen started "How long are going to continue sitting there and reading your book?"

Kakashi looked up from his book to see some very annoyed faces. He sweat dropped at the display.

"Now, now..."He said as he slowly stood up "I was listening to everything that was said."

_'sure you were' _Thought Naruto and Sakura sarcastically. Kakashi walked towards his students.

"By the way, what are you going to do about your disguises?" Kakashi asked them, Both teens blinked.

"Umm..." Naruto said scratching the back of his head sheepishly "We haven't really thought about that..."

"Before that..." Said the Hokage " I'd like to take a look at your transformations."

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other and then nodded and then made a few hand seals.

"Henge!" They shouted in unison, and a 'poof' sound was heard. After the smoke cleared out, it revealed a girl with brown eyes and long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. She wore fishnet T-shirt which was covered by a dark pink button-down shirt and black shorts that ended high above her knee. Next to her, stood a boy with Spiky black hair and green eyes. He wore a plain blue T-shirt which was hidden due to a saggy black Hooded jacket and dark blue full-length pants.

Kakashi stared at them "Both of you really like transforming into something good-looking." The mentioned two just glared at him.

"It's average." Both said in unison

"I assume that the boy is Naruto right?" Kakashi asked suspiciously.

"Of course!" Naruto immediately answered "Who else?"

"No, I was just doubting you." Kakashi said

"Isn't a teacher supposed to HAVE faith in their students?!" Naruto asked furiously _'Not to mention, he said that with no hesitation at all.' _ Kakashi just avoided eye contact.

"Anyway..." The Hokage coughed which succeeded in getting him attention "I'll give you your aliases."

"Sakura!" He looked towards the brown haired girl "You will be known as Hikari from now on." He said and then shifted his eyes towards the emerald-eyed boy. "And Naruto!" He looked at him "Your name will be Tatsu." Hiruzen leaned towards his table "Unless you are in a closed room or private area, do not remove your transformations."

As soon as they agreed with the terms, Hiruzen dismissed them.

OUTSIDE THE HOKAGE TOWER (10:30pm)

"So? What are you gonna to do?" Hikari asked Tatsu suddenly.

"About what?" Tatsu asked back as he walked side-by-side with her, while Kakashi was in front of them, of course, listening to their conversation.

"What do you mean 'About what?'" She asked him in an annoyed tone "About tomorrow of course!"

Tatsu paused for a while "I'll be going tomorrow in my transformation." He said finally "If you want to come along, be in your transformation as well."

Hikari nodded "Okay, but, for some reason I'm feeling a little uncomfortable with the tone Shikamaru used when he told us where and when to meet him." Hikari said with concern.

"You don't need to worry!" Tatsu said grinning "It's _Shikamaru_ we're talking about here!"

"Yeah." She agreed "Maybe I'm just paranoid." Hikari said mostly to herself.

"I don't think that's all you should worry about that right now." Kakashi said as he took place in their conversation "Right now, you two should be worrying about your chores as well." The mentioned duo blinked at the word.

"Chores?" They chorused.

"What? You didn't think I'd let you stay at my place for free, now did you?" Kakashi asked them mockingly. "Sakura, you'll be in charge of cooking."

"Why me?" asked Hikari "And why are you using our real names?"

"You're cooking because I don't want ramen for breakfast." Kakashi said "And I'm using your real name because there isn't anyone who'd waste their time roaming around at this time of the night when they could be sleeping."

Sakura crossed her arms and glared at him "Point taken."

Kakashi stopped walking "Anyway, here we are."

"Whoa, this is your house?" Tatsu asked "I didn't expect it to be traditional."

"I prefer traditional." Kakashi said "And during the night if you want to use the bathroom, go over there." He said pointing to a shack. "It's separated from the house, so don't come running to me saying you can't find it."

Kakashi ignored the curses he was getting from his students and walked inside the house. As soon as they entered the house, Tatsu and Hikari undid their henge. **(I'm going to refer to them with their** **fake names from now on :P)**

"There are two rooms at the end of the corridor upstairs. Choose whichever ones you like." Kakashi said as he opened at the door to a room. "I'm going to sleep." He yawned as he closed the door to the room he entered. There was silence for a while.

"I am ashamed to say that I respected him as a teacher." Tatsu mumbled to himself

"I second that." Hikari agreed

NEXT DAY (11:00 a.m.)

"You read the map correctly right?" Asked a brown-haired girl.

"Yeah, this is where the map leads us to." replied a raven haired boy as he looked at a rundown old cavern in the middle of a forest.

"A-Are you...absolutely sure, Na...um..._Tatsu_?" Asked the girl again to make sure, the hut was a very sorry sight indeed.

"Yes, I am!" Tatsu said in determination. "Now let's go inside, _Hikari_."

"W-Whatever you say." Hikari said as she followed Tatsu. Tatsu reached out to turn the knob of the door, but before he touched it, the door opened by itself.

"huh?" A voice exclaimed "Who are you?"

Hikari and Tatsu looked at the source of the voice "Oh! Shikamaru!" Tatsu exclaimed, Shikamaru looked a little confused as to why they know his name.

"It's just us Shikamaru, we're just under a transformation." Hikari explained

"Ah! Naruto and Sakura right?" Shikamaru understood "Good, you're on time." He said as he motioned them to enter.

They undid their transformations once they were inside.

"It's not so bad in the inside." Tatsu said to himself

"So? Why'd you call us?" Tatsu a.k.a. Naruto asked.

"Well, I didn't _really_ need _you_ to come..." He said to Tatsu who, once again became infuriated with his tone. "I actually only needed Sakura to come."

"Then why'd you call me as well?" Tatsu asked in a sulking tone

"Because, he would have wanted to see you as well." Shikamaru said as well to a nearby room and opened the door.

_'He?'_ Tatsu thought as Shikamaru entered inside the room. Tatsu followed him with Hikari behind him.

Once Tatsu entered the room, his eyes wandered to a certain boy with pale skin and short black hair. He was wearing loose and somewhat worn out clothes and was sitting on a bed reading a book.

"S-SAI?!" Tatsu exclaimed

"Oh! Naruto!" He said with his normally fake smile like usual.

"So you came back as well?!" Tatsu said as a smile spread on his face "Isn't this great?" he asked Hikari, who just nodded in reply.

"Man...It's been so long!" Tatsu grinned "It feels so good to know that there are the three of us here!" He said as he folded his arms at the back of his head. Everyone's faces softened with his reaction.

"Still..." Hikari said suddenly "I want to know. How did Sai come along without being noticed by the kyuubi?" Shikamaru sighed at this.

"Actually, when I found Sai on the battlefield, He was in a terrible state." Shikamaru answered "He had senbon needles sticking out of him."

"Senbon needles?" Hikari repeated as a question

"That's right." Shikamaru nodded "My guess is that he was put in a temporary death-state."

"I see..." Hikari approved his conclusion "That makes sense."

"Not long after I found him, I saw both of you near Madara." Shikamaru continued "And then before I knew it, I landed up in this forest with Sai next to me."

"Now I get it." Tatsu said victoriously "The reason Kurama didn't sense Sai was because he was in this death state. But Sai came along with us because he wasn't really dead."

"That's correct." Shikamaru nodded, while Sai remained with a neutral expression.

"But... why'd you tell us to come specifically at this time?" Hikari asked "It makes no sense!"

Shikamaru stared at her for a while as if he was preparing to answer. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he heard a 'THUD' sound behind him. When he turned behind to look his eyes widened in horror. Sai was on the floor.

"Oh no!" Shikamaru said as he rushed to pick him up

"W-What happened to him?" Tatsu asked "He was fine just a second ago!"

" He only fainted. This has been happening regularly since we got here." Shikamaru said as he put Sai back on the bed.

"Regularly?" Hikari asked curiously

"Yeah, It happens every 24 hours at exactly 11:15 a.m." Shikamaru told her "We arrived over here 3 days ago. When it first happened I just shrugged it off." Shikamaru explained "But, when it happened the second time, I had my doubts."

"You arrived here earlier than us?" Tatsu asked. Meanwhile Hikari was having her own thoughts

"That's not the point here!" Shikamaru said "The thing is, that once Sai wakes up, he forgets almost everything that happened an hour before he collapses."

_'Those symptoms...It can't be!' _She opened her mouth"Shikamaru!" She called out to him, which resulted in him looking at her. "You removed those senbon needles from him _after_ you came here right?"

"Yeah... What about it?" He said

"Do you still have them with you?" She asked, Shikamaru smiled.

"I figured that it'd be useful, so I left them untouched." He replied "They're in the first drawer of that table." He pointed towards a desk with three vertically assembled drawers.

Hikari walked over to the desk and bent down. She opened the drawers and took a look inside. She immediately spotted the needles. She picked up one of the needles carefully and examined it, she saw a kind of purple liquid on the tip of the needle. Her eyes widened. She reached inside the bag that she was carrying with her and pulled out a box like device. She then inserted the needle inside the device and waited for a little while.

"Um... Sakura? What are you doing?" Tatsu asked, obviously confused.

Hikari didn't answer, but continued waiting till the light on the device lit up in green. She looked at the device and then took out the needle.

"It's like I thought!" Hikari said

"What?" Both Tatsu and Shikamaru asked and then looked at each other with an expression. Hikari sighed.

"Shikamaru..." Hikari called him "These senbon needles weren't meant for harming him." She said as she looked towards the needle in her hand "What was meant to cause the real harm was the poison on it."

"Poison?" Shikamaru repeated

"Yes, it's a slow-killing poison that supposedly has no cures." Hikari said

"What!?" Tatsu and Shikamaru exclaimed as both their eyes widened in horror.

"Calm down." Hikari told them "That's only supposedly."

"What do you mean?" Tatsu asked her

"During the fourth great ninja war, the resting camp that we put up for war victims was invaded." Sakura told them "During that time, Ino, who was with me was injected with this exact poison. It took a while for me to get an antidote, but I made it." She explained as Tatsu's face got relieved of the tension put on it.

"So? You can make another one right?" Shikamaru asked her

"Actually..." Hikari said as she reached inside her pouch on the left side of her thigh "I have the antidote with me right now." She removed a small bottle with a bluish kind of transparent liquid inside it.

"...Why do you have some with you?" He asked her

"Well..." Hikari smiled awkwardly "You see... since I found out about this poison, I was hoping to show it to the head medics of this village. But then it hit me that I didn't have a sample of the poison..."

Shikamaru and Tatsu made an unreadable expression.

"...A-Anyway, since I have the antidote, I'll give it to Sai." She said as she took out a syringe and filled it with the liquid. She then, walked over to Sai, who was sweating with a very restless expression on his face. Hikari picked up Sai's forearm and injected it. Soon after this, he seemed to have relaxed a bit.

"There! He should be fine now!" Hikari said victoriously "Although... his life has been shortened."

"Well, for now we should be glad that he's alive." Shikamaru said.

"So? Is that all?"Hikari asked

"For now." Shikamaru nodded "Anyway, what are you going to do by remaining in the past?"

Hikari and Tatsu exchanged nervous glances.

"Actually..." Tatsu said "We found out that if we can defeat both the Madara's of this world, we'll not only be able to go back in time, but everyone will still be alive when we do..."

"N-No way! Where'd you find this out?" Shikamaru asked

"The third Hokage told us." Hikari answered

"So you told Sandaime-sama as well?" Shikamaru sighed. "And?" Shikamaru asked, which caused Tatsu and Hikari to gain confused faces. "What are your plans?" Shikamaru clarified. The duo's faces brightened.

"You're gonna help?" Tatsu asked with a grin

"What else am I supposed to do?" Shikamaru asked "It's not like I can leave this kind of matter to two troublesome people like you."

"Is that supposed to make us feel better?" Tatsu asked

"No. But you can take it that way if you want." Shikamaru replied. Hikari laughed at their conversation.

"I was thinking that we should make only slight changes to this future over here." Hikari said joining their conversation.

"Huh? What kind?" Asked Tatsu

"Like for example, the mission to protect Tazuna." Hikari said as she held up her index finger.

"Oh yeah... tomorrow is the day we go on the mission to wave." Tatsu said "I almost forgot."

"That's right." Hikari nodded

"That means we can save Zabuza and Haku!" Tatsu said with a victory pose. Hikari hit him.

"You idiot! Do you think it's that easy? They're missing ninja for god's sake." Hikari scolded "And even if do save them, what next?"

"Well...we can get them reinstated as Konoha shinobi." Tatsu said as he gently rubbed the bump on his head. Hikari brow furrowed, but instead of hitting him again, she just sighed.

"Like I said..." She continued "It's not that easy."

"How come?" Tatsu asked

"These people are missing ninja's right?" Shikamaru suddenly said "It's because of that."

"How is that related to anything?" Tatsu asked with a confused face. Shikamaru sighed.

"Even if you manage to save these ninja, as kind as the current Hokage is, I doubt he'll allow them to be reinstated." Shikamaru explained "Besides, even if he does agree, we'll have to get permission from the Mizukage, because after all he is a criminal, and there are many who would want to get revenge and execute him at the first chance they get."

"Again with this 'revenge'!" Tatsu practically yelled, which startled Hikari and Shikamaru "Isn't it enough that the whole world suffered in the future?"

"But even so..." Hikari said "What can we do about it?"

"We can stop this cycle of hatred!" Tatsu grinned, Shikamaru and Hikari stared at him in awe. "We're from the future! We can change things!"

Shikamaru scratched his head "I hate to admit it, but Naruto's right." Hikari looked at Shikamaru "We might be...no... we are the only people right now who are capable enough to pull off such an outrageous idea." Hikari lowered her head.

"I guess majority wins." she surrendered "We were going to change the future why not go all the way?"

Tatsu and Shikamaru smiled at her.

"Naruto, what are you going to do?" Hikari asked

"First of all, we need to convince ji-chan to go along with them on that mission." Tatsu explained "But... I didn't think of what to do after that."

Hikari and Shikamaru sweat dropped.

"I guess I have no choice..." Shikamaru said, Hikari and Tatsu looked towards him "Sai _will_ be fine by tomorrow, right Sakura?"

Hikari nodded at the question "Yeah, the poison didn't take full effect, so he should be fine."

"Good. Okay, here's the plan." Shikamaru said as he motioned them to come closer. Hikari and Tatsu leaned in.

"Today, at 7:00 p.m. meet me at the Hokage tower." Shikamaru told them "Sai, is still very vulnerable, so I need to set up a barrier to keep him safe."

"Why can't we go earlier?" Hikari asked "You would probably finish setting up the barrier before 2'o clock."

"That won't work. The Hokage is especially busy during the afternoons and evenings, so he won't have time." Shikamaru explained "Besides there's no rush to this."

"Alright then. What do we do after that?" Tatsu asked

"Hokage-sama will first have to give me, my new identity during our short stay here. Sai doesn't really need a new name since the one we know is a fake anyway. But he'd probably need to change his appearance in case Danzo spots him." Shikamaru told them "Then, I'll convince Hokage-sama to allow us to chauffer the rookie nine." Shikamaru looked at Hikari "Sakura, right now, we need you to go on this mission along with Naruto, but once you come back, it's best that you look after Gai sensei's team."

"Okay." Hikari said agreeing to the terms.

"Come to think of it..." Tatsu said "The chuunin exams were almost right after we came back from the country of wave."

"All the better." Shikamaru said "Since we know about the invasion they're trying to pull off, we'll warn the Hokage beforehand, and prevent any major damage."

"Got it!" Tatsu said

"I'll explain everything to Sai later. For now this is what we'll concentrate on." Shikamaru continued "Are we clear?"

Hikari and Tatsu simply nodded in response.

"Good." Shikamaru smirked "Remember, we can't have any do-over's in life. This is an important stepping stone to get back our lives in the future. We can't afford any screw ups." He said seriously.

"We already know that Shikamaru." Tatsu told him "You don't have to worry! After all, you've got Konoha's #1 most unpredictable ninja on your side!"

"That's _exactly _why I'm worried." Shikamaru said. Tatsu almost fell over.

"Wha- Why?" Tatsu asked in mock hurt. Hikari giggled at his antics.

"Anyway, We'll head back to Kakashi-sensei's place." Hikari said as she stood up and grabbed Tatsu.

"Alright. Don't be late." Shikamaru said calling after them

"We won't." Hikari called back.

When they reached the exit, Hikari and Tatsu transformed into their identities again. Once they were outside Tatsu allowed himself to indulge in his own thoughts.

_'hehehe... stepping stone huh?' _He thought to himself _'That's right... we can't screw up and we won't.'_

Back inside the cavern. Shikamaru was having thought of his own.

_'Naruto, Sakura... remember, do-over's aren't allowed. Not in a game of shogi...and not in real life either.'_

* * *

**I hope this chapter was interesting. Please review and tell me about it. It really makes me feel really happy knowing that someone enjoys please tell me about your ideas for my story. They're well appreciated.**

**Oh! and also congrats to everyone who guessed Sai as the other character! :)**


	5. Game Start!

**Sorry that this update is so late. But I have a reason! My father's death anniversary took place recently and I also failed in my math's finals and have to write a supplementary exam this 25th (wish me luck).**

**Even then I finshed this chapter by writing it with all my love. So make sure to read everything. Enjoy! :D**

**'kurama speaking'**

_**'Tatsu/Naruto speaking with kurama'**_

_'thinking'_

_'speaking'_

* * *

_'This is an important stepping stone to get back our lives in the future.'_

_'That's right... we can't screw up and we won't.'_

_'Naruto, Sakura... remember, do-over's aren't allowed. Not in a game of shogi...and not in real life either.'_

OUTSIDE THE HOKAGE TOWER (7:00 p.m.)

"He's late!" Grumbled a raven haired boy with emerald green eyes. "And he's the one who set the time and everything!"

"It's just been around five minutes since we got here, N-Tatsu." A girl with brown hair sighed as she corrected herself. Her hands were crossed over her thin waist. She still hadn't gotten used to their new names. "Your too impatient." she continued

"You're kidding!" Tatsu asked her incredulously "It's been only five minutes, and it already feels like five hours!" His brow furrowed

"Calm down, he's not Kakashi-sensei." She told him calmly "Hopefully, he won't take much longer." She said as she prayed for Shikamaru to come quicker.

If they wait one more second, Tatsu would probably explode. And she wanted to live till she was at least married or even got a boyfriend. The moment she thought that, a strong gust of wind blew past them. Hikari and Tatsu closed their eyelids and covered their faces with their arms to prevent any dirt to enter their eyes. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw a figure wearing a hooded coat.

"Sorry I'm late."Said the figure.

"Shikamaru!" Tatsu growled "We've been waiting for five hours!" Shikamaru blinked at what Tatsu said and then carefully took a look at his wrist watch.

"But it's only been five minutes." Shikamaru stated plainly. Tatsu made a face.

"Well, it _feels _like it's been five hours!" Tatsu insisted

"Okay, Okay, I got it!" Shikamaru said as his hands motioned Tatsu to calm down "You're too troublesome to argue with, so let's leave it at that." Shikamaru waved it off. Hikari examined Shikamaru's disguise.

"Shikamaru, don't you think that hood is suspicious?" Hikari said pointing at his head.

"No one will stop us from entering the tower just because of this." Shikamaru said as he covered his face more with the hood "We have to actually attempt murder on the Hokage to be stopped."

"You're too relaxed." Said Hikari accusingly

"And you're too anxious. Though I can see why you feel uneasy. After all, time travelling still seems like a dream to you, right?" Shikamaru calmly countered, Hikari blushed at his comment in humiliation of being caught. "In any case, we should go now."

Shikamaru turned his back and headed inside the tower, with Tatsu and Hikari right behind him. They soon arrived in front of the hokage's office. Shikamaru knocked the door a few times until the hokage permitted him to enter. He reached towards the door knob and opened the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, Hokage-sama." Shikamaru said. The mentioned old man was on his chair with a few documents in hand.

"No, not at all." Hiruzen said as he waved off that apology "I was getting tired with the amount of paper work today anyway."

"You seem even older than the last time I saw you, ji-chan." Tatsu said bluntly. Soon after he said that, he and Hikari removed their transformation and Shikamaru let down his hood.

"Is that so?" The hokage laughed at the supposed to be insult. "And? Why did you come here?" He asked them suddenly becoming serious "I assume it wasn't just to have some nice tea with cakes while we chat." The trio stiffened a bit at his question.

"We came here because we wanted to discuss about team seven's mission tomorrow." Shikamaru said, being the first one to speak.

"What's so special about it?" Hiruzen asked them "All I have ready for them are D-ranked missions."

"It's true that we should've gotten a D-rank mission back then, but..." Hikari interrupted "This idiot insisted that we get a 'cooler' mission, so we ended up taking a C-rank instead." She said as she stuck out a thumb pointing at our favourite blonde ninja.

"I knew he would do something like that sooner or later." The Sandaime sighed as he massaged his forehead. "And what is your request?"

"I would appreciate it if you could arrange for Naruto and Sakura..." Shikamaru said as he motioned towards Hikari and Tatsu "to accompany the current team seven with their C-rank mission tomorrow." The Hokage lifted a brow at this.

"Your reason is?" He asked as he watched the duo behind Shikamaru tense.

"H-Hokage-sama?" Hikari interrupted "Actually... tomorrow's C-rank mission is a little special."

"May I ask how?" Hiruzen inquired

"Well... because of some...um...circumstances, that mission was bumped up to a B-rank mission, or maybe even A-rank." Hikari explained

"I see, and my guess is that there's someone there who has a future you'd like to change." said the hokage.

_'Bull's eye!'_ Thought the three teenagers.

"Just now you thought something like 'bull's eye'." Hiruzen presumed "Am I right?"

The mentioned three stiffened.

_'I-Is he mind reading?' _Tatsu asked himself mentally.

"I assure you Naruto, I'm not a mind reader." Hiruzen answered Tatsu's mental question "You're just very easy to see through."

Tatsu grew pale "Okay, old man, you're starting to freak me out."

Hiruzen chuckled at Tatsu's antics.

"So... is that a 'yes'?" Hikari asked. Hiruzen put a pipe in his mouth, causing smoke to escape after removing it.

"I don't see why not." Hiruzen agreed, Hikari's face brightened at the response. After that he paused for a while and then opened his mouth to speak "I won't ask you about what happened in the future and I won't ask you what your plans are by staying here."

Hikari, Tatsu and Shikamaru all turned their faces towards the hokage with confused expressions. Hiruzen closed his eyes.

"Even though I know nothing about your circumstances, I do know that you all have the villages best interests in mind. And that's why you want to change a would-be horrible future, correct?" Hiruzen said kindly "That's why, don't hesitate to come to me if you have any problems."

When Hiruzen finished he opened his eyes to see Tatsu crying a waterfall, while Shikamaru and Hikari had very gentle and thankful expressions.

"J-Ji-chan...!" Tatsu said as he looked at the old Hokage with teary eyes and then wiped away his tears. Hiruzen smiled benevolently.

"Now, since that's settled..." Shikamaru suddenly said as he broke the emotional moment. "I also like to request whether you could allow us to escort the rookie nine from time to time."

"I don't mind, but why?" Hiruzen asked, Shikamaru hesitated.

"Part of it is because they should get used to us hanging around them." Shikamaru finally said "The other part is because I hope to make our younger selves a little stronger than originally planned."

Tatsu and Hikari immediately diverted their attention completely to what Shikamaru was saying. But instead of being attentive, it was more like being shocked? Shikamaru instantly noticed the stares he was getting.

"Why are you two looking at me with those troublesome stares?" He asked

"no...um...i-it's just that.." Hikari stuttered "I didn't think that you'd readily do something that goes against your ...um...'troublesome' policy."

"Yeah, I mean, to think that you'd actually volunteer to train our 'troublesome' younger selves." Tatsu said as he pitched in.

"Could you stop mimicking me by using 'troublesome' ?" Shikamaru sighed "And anyway, I only want to improve them slightly."

"What are you planning on doing?" asked the Hokage

"It'll be difficult, even for me." Shikamaru said uncertain "I have to be careful not to make them too strong, because there are things we experienced back then that they have to go through now. Otherwise there's a possibility that they will become arrogantly blind because of their attained strength."

"I see, it is quite a fragile plan." Hiruzen said agreeing "One wrong step and the future will change for the worse."

The tension in the office rose. Tatsu glanced at Shikamaru will concerned eyes. But why was he concerned? There were too many reasons.

**'It's strange for you to doubts let alone worry about your friends choices.' **A voice suddenly rang inside his head. Tatsu's eyes widened in surprise but went back to normal just as quick

**_'I'm not having doubts!'_**Tatsu said to the voice in his head as he entered into the sewer in his head **_'Also, it's rare for you to strike up a conversation, Kurama.'_**

**'That doesn't matter.' **retorted Kurama **'And anyway, they're your comrades, shouldn't you trust them more?'**

**_'Says the beast who's never trusted anyone before me in his lifetime.' _**Naruto countered.

**'You brat, that's why I'm telling you to trust them.' **Kurama said, unaffected which confused Tatsu. Kurama sighed **'All humans said the same things, no matter what, that never changed. It was always my power, I was powerful, that's why they wanted to seal my abilities, giving the excuses of the innocent being hurt if I roam free.' **Kurama's wrinkled face softened a bit **'But you were different, you told me, the beast that ruined your life, that you wanted to get rid of all the hatred within me. That's why I think it's okay to trust him, because he's one of your comrades'**

Tatsu stared at him for a bit until his expression became wrinkled **_'SOOO MUSSHHHYYY...' _**Tatsu said suddenly

Kyuubi immediately developed a popping vein on his forehead.

**_'I didn't think you were capable of comforting me. I guess I can rest easy now since I have a shoulder to cry on.'_**Tatsu continued with a smirk on his face.

**'ENOUGH!' **Kurama suddenly roared **'I was just making it clear that, unlike my stupid and useless host, the Nara kid knows what he's doing.'**

_'stupid and useless host?' _Tatsu thought as his eyebrow twitched.

**'Now that I made my point, you can get out!.' **Kurama said as he went back to sleep.

**_'Yeah, I'll go!' _**Tatsu said as he turned around but soon after allowed a smile to blanket his face **_'Geez, you really don't know how to be honest.' _**Tatsu muttered under his breath.

"...ruto!" Tatsu heard a faint voice "Naruto!" The voice became louder causing Tatsu to shoot open his eyes.

"Naruto! Were you talking to Kurama-san again?!" Hikari asked with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah..." Tatsu said as he scratched the back of his head "Sorry, I was just discussing something with him."

"Like?" Hikari said lifting a brow. Tatsu just chuckled at the memory of Kurama's 'tsundere'* character.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked again

"Nothing, nothing at all." Tatsu said waving it off. "So what did I miss?"

"Nothing much. You can tag along with team 7 tomorrow." Shikamaru answered "I'll keep an eye on the on the rest of the rookie nine, and on Gai sensei's team from time to time."

"What about Sai?" Tatsu asked

"He'll be making a few preparations for the chuunin exams on my behalf." Shikamaru replied "After I explain the situation to him, he's bound to cooperate perfectly."

"And..." Tatsu gulped "Am I finally going to become chuunin?" Tatsu asked Shikamaru who simply smirked.

"Whatever happens, happens."

_'I'm getting a bad feeling about my promotion.' _Tatsu thought as he sweat dropped _'And is it just me, or do I see a mischievous aura around Shikamaru?'_

"Naruto!" The Sandaime called "Tomorrow you and Sakura are going to accompany team 7 as mentioned. But you will introduce yourselves as Tatsu and Hikari. Kakashi will tell the details to them later."

Tatsu nodded his head in response.

"And Shikamaru, from today onwards, you will be known as Ayumu."

"Ayumu, eh?" Shikamaru a.k.a. Ayumu repeated. "Kinda suits me."

"If you've understood, then you are all dismissed." The Sandaime said as he once again blew on his pipe. The trio obeyed the command and dispersed quietly. As soon as the office had no one but himself present in it, Hiruzen got up from his chair and stared out of his window deep in thought.

_'I wonder whether I did the right thing by letting them do as they want freely.' _The sandaime shook that thought out of his head _'No, for now, I have no choice. I'll just have to believe in them.'_

BACK WITH TATSU AND CO.

"Man, today was so tiring." Tatsu stretched his arms. He, along with Hikari and Ayumu of course were in their transformations. They decided to stop by the park for a while. Tatsu and Hikari were sitting on a bench while Ayumu was leaning on the climber of a nearby slide.

"I'll sleep like a log today." Tatsu continued

Ayumu looked towards Tatsu "Bringing me to the topic of 'where exactly are you staying?'"

"Huh?" Tatsu said looking surprised "Didn't we tell you?"

"No" Ayumu said annoyed.

"Hmm... Well, we're crashing at Kakashi sensei's place." Tatsu answered Ayumu "His house is really traditional."

"That means that it's big right?" Ayumu asked lifting an eyebrow

"Yeah, I guess we could put it that way." Tatsu answered confused at the question he was asked. Ayumu rubbed his chin.

"Alright then, Sai and I are moving in." Ayumu suddenly said making Tatsu and Hikari jump "Tonight."

"WHHAAATTTT!?" The Duo exclaimed as they jerked up from the bench.

"Sai is probably awake by now, so I'll explain it to him." Ayumu said as he straightened his back, getting of the slide in the process.

"I better get back." Ayumu said as he stretched his arms. "Wait for us at Kakashi-sensei's place."He continued as he walked away.

THAT NIGHT

Kakashi sweat dropped at the amount of people in the dining room. He just finished a short solo mission and honestly, he was way too tired to even think about eating dinner. But when he came back, he just had to find some kind of problem with his only haven.

"Uh...Is it just me, or did the population in my house increase by two?" Kakashi said with half opened eyes. He looked carefully at one of his 'guests'.

"Aren't you Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked "So you're going to stay here as well?"

"Yeah, he is. And also his alias is Ayumu." Hikari said answering for Ayumu.

"Hmm... And...who's the pale boy who is smiling at me?" Kakashi asked hesitating

"My name is Sai." Sai answered still smiling "You haven't changed at all after three years, Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes "Kid, you're an anbu aren't you?" Everyone had eyes on Kakashi "And not just any anbu. I have the honour of meeting a ROOT member."

"H-How did you know, Kakashi-sensei?" Tatsu asked

"That's amazing! you even knew that he was from ROOT!" Hikari injected

"Well, yeah..." Kakashi scratched the back of his head "Because normal anbu have expressions even though they _are_ anbu. But ROOT members are trained to become cold-hearted, expressionless and emotionless."

Sai paled even more (Is that even possible?) at the mention of being a stone faced _and _stone hearted.

_'Wah, that was definitely a huge blow to the heart for Sai_' Thought Tatsu _'Kakashi-sensei is more air headed than I thought.' _**(Now, now Naruto/Tatsu. You're not one to talk about being air headed :P)**

"But, even though I said that, you seem to have very carefree actions for a ROOT anbu." Kakashi said cutting into Tatsu's thoughts. "I assume that Naruto, Sakura and the rest of the rookies were the cause. Am I right?"

Sai paused for a while to let the sentence sink in before a smile spread on his face, a REAL smile.

"Yes, you're absolutely correct, senpai." Everyone's eyes widened.

"Woah..." Tatsu looked at Sai "You smiled."

"Huh? But... aren't I always smiling." Sai asked confused

"Yeah... but... how do I say this?" Tatsu scrambled "This smile... was a little different."

"...in what way?"

"Argh..." Tatsu was on the verge of tearing his hair out "Never mind, it's difficult to explain."

Sai was _definitely _confused now.

"A-Anyway, Kakashi sensei." Hikari decided to interrupt before Sai's head exploded "We're gonna be accompanying you tomorrow with a mission. Is that alright?"

"Did the Hokage approve?" Kakashi asked

"Yeah." Tatsu and Hikari chorused

"Then it's alright." Kakashi said as he turned around. "Anyway, I'm going to bed earlier today. Eat whatever and don't make much noise."

Kakashi walked out of the dining room and closed the door, leaving four teenagers blank on what to do.

"Well then, since dinner's ready, let's eat!" Hikari said trying to break the ice

"Yeah, let's..." Tatsu replied "Itadakimasu!" *

"Itadakimasu!" Sai, Shikamaru and Hikari repeated as they picked up their chopsticks.

Tatsu started eating starting with the rice and then moving on to the side dishes.

"Wow! This actually tastes pretty good!" Tatsu said surprised "Since when did you cook so well?!"

"True, this is a very pleasant surprise." Sai said smiling

"..." Ayumu just continued eating

"What's with that response? " Hikari asked annoyed "Even I can cook!"

"Sorry, my bad. It's true that even you can cook." Tatsu said as he ate another morsel and then swallowed "But, this really tastes familiar..."

"Oh! It must be the way I cook it." Hikari said "Hinata was the one who taught me to cook."

"No wonder I thought it was familiar!" Tatsu said understanding

"Hold on..." Sakura said as a sly smile crept on her face "When did you ever taste her cooking?"

Tatsu blushed slightly "It's not what you think! I swear!" He said flustered

"Then what is it?"

Tatsu paused before speaking "Whenever we went on missions, she would usually bring bento for the whole platoon or the team. That's why I could recognize the taste."

"You're really sharp, huh?" Ayumu said

"You think so?" Tatsu said scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Hinata was really caring and kind, wasn't she?" Hikari said _'But she got really intense when Naruto was concerned in anything.'_

Tatsu just nodded at Hikari.

In the main Hyuuga residence in Konoha, a 12-year-old Hyuuga Hinata sneezed.

"Did I catch a cold?" She asked herself as she rubbed her nose before switching of the lights in her room and headed to the bed. _'I better be careful, I have missions tomorrow.' _she thought before closing her eyes and going to sleep.

BACK AT THE HATAKE RESIDENCE

"Anyway, since we are going to be in the wave country for a while, I'll keep a list of the chores you have to do." Hikari told Sai and Ayumu

"I don't really mind." Sai said as he smiled **(when does he not?-_-)**

"Chores? That's too troublesome." Ayumu replied

"You have no choice. Even I hate chores but we've got to do them " Hikari said with her hands on her hips, followed by a defeated sigh from Ayumu. Tatsu chuckled by looking at them.

"Hmmm? What?" Hikari asked

"It's just that, when we're together like this, I feel like we're a family..." Tatsu said as he lightly blushed "...or something like that."

Hikari, Ayumu and Sai smiled

"We were always closer than real family, now that I think about it." Hikari said to mostly herself.

"Is that so?" Sai said as he showed his very-rare-surprised face

"I never really noticed." Ayumu said coolly. Tatsu just continued smiling before he stretched his arms and yawned.

"Anyway, I think I'll go ahead and hit the sack." He said as he went out the door and then closed it from behind.

There was a silence in the room for a brief moment.

"So, Shikamaru?" Hikari asked "What do think are the chances that we can pull this off?"

"To be honest, I don't really know myself." Ayumu said scratching his head "All I know is that, the introduction for this game is done."

"You're solving this time travel thing like a shogi game aren't you?" Hikari said, mildly amused.

"I guess you could say that." Ayumu replied.

"But, after all, it isn't that simple." Sai said as he joined the conversation.

"That's right, this is a game of real life."

"And one wrong step and it's game over." said Hikari "When you think about it that way, it's scary."

"We can only do our best on this." Ayumu said as he comforted Hikari in a strange way "Tomorrow is the start of this dangerous game. We if we don't want to die, we will have to be the ones to call out 'check mate' first." He smirked "Don't you agree?"

Hikari smiled "Isn't that obvious?"

"I too, agree." said Sai.

Outside the door of the room, Tatsu stood listening to everything.

"What am I hiding for?" Tatsu asked himself "I only came back to get a glass of water before bed."

Tatsu sighed and then turned around _'Forget it. Tomorrow is a big day after all.'_

Back inside the room, Ayumu continued his thoughts _'Tomorrow is the start of this very troublesome life game.'_

"Game start!" Tatsu said with a smile as he climbed the stairs.

* * *

**Before you throw stuff at me, I'll ask for forgiveness. I swear that the next chapter will definitely be about the mission to wave! But even then I hope you liked this one. Also I'd like to request one of my reviewers 'guest' to get an account on , coz it's a hassle when I can reply to your questions.**

*** 'Tsundere' - is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing his or her warm side over time.**

***'Itadakimasu' - Is a term used before eating in japan. It is equivalent in meaning 'I'm going to eat now.' or 'Let's eat.'**


	6. Ready Go!

**I'm sorry for this (very) late update, but I had my exams and they weren't easy. I would like to update my stories faster too. Not to mention that I'm am someone's beta, so life ain't easy. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, even though; in my opinion; it's not as interesting as I wanted it to be. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Naruto and Hinata would be together right now.**

* * *

_'Tomorrow is the start of this very troublesome life game.'_

_'Game start!'_

"This is Sasuke, arrived at point B" A deep voice stated over an earpiece as shadows sped through the forest.

"This is Sakura, arrived at point C" Another voice stated through the device.

"This is Naruto, arrived at point A" The last voice stated as he confirmed that everyone was in their places.

"You're slow, Naruto." A more older and more mature voice mocked. "Okay, 7th unit..." the voice continued.

Suddenly, a ferocious shadow emerged through the bushes and started running through the forest.

"The target has moved!" The older voice exclaimed over the earpiece he was wearing as the so called 'target' camouflaged in the woods. "After it!"

Shadows slowly emerged from the trees.

"Okay, he's right over there." Naruto said. The three moved their location further to the target.

"What's the distance to the target?" Asked their superior.

"Five meters. I'm ready to go." Naruto said

"I am, too." said Sasuke

"Me too." said Sakura, the female of the group.

"Okay..." the older voice once again said "Go!"

The threesome immediately pounced towards the target.

"I got you!" Naruto said grabbing hold of the unwilling target.

"Does it have a ribbon on its right ear? Is it our target Tora?" The voice asked through the earpiece.

"There's no doubt, it's the target." Sasuke confirmed.

"Alright." The figure said standing up " 'Operation: Capture Tora the lost pet' Complete."

"ISN'T THERE A MORE EXCITING MISSION THAT WE CAN WORK ON?!" Naruto screamed through the earpiece resulting in the collapsing of his jounin guide.

AT THE HOKAGE TOWER  
"Ohh, my cute Tora-chan!" Madam Shijimi, a fat lady known to be the fire's feudal lord's wife exclaimed in pure relief and happiness as she squeezed the life out of the mentioned cat. "I was so worried about you!"

"The cat get's what he deserves!" Naruto said chuckling.

"No wonder he ran away." Sakura said as she couldn't help but pity the poor animal.

"Now then..." The hokage interrupted "Kakashi's 7th units next mission is... babysitting Yojyu-sama's son, Grocery shopping at the neighbouring town, Helping dig up potatoes at..."

"NO!" Naruto yelled, silencing the old hokage. Hiruzen looked up at the blonde boy. "No thank you to all of those!" He exclaimed creating a cross shaped sign with his forearms. "I want a more exciting mission! Choose something else!"

_'He has a point..'_ Sasuke thought.

_'What a troubling guy he is!'_ Sakura thought in annoyance.

_'I knew he was going to do this sooner or later.'_ Kakashi thought finally.

Iruka looked like he was about to say something, but he was cut off the hokage's sudden burst of laughter. Team seven and Iruka looked at Hiruzen with confused faces.

"It's just like you said!" The hokage said confusing the team even more. Suddenly, one of the door's behind them opened up revealing two teenage figures.

"You predicted this outcome as well, Hokage-sama." The female brunette smiled.

"What do you mean by that!" The raven haired boy beside her scowled.

"Nothing~"

"W-Who?" Naruto asked

"These two are going to be accompanying you on your next mission." The hokage answered

"They're gonna help us babysit?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow

"No, no." Sarutobi laughed "Your next mission is going to be a C-rank."

"What? But didn't you -" Naruto choked out

"He was playing with you." The raven haired boy answered

"Uh.. yeah, I.. knew that." Naruto said in between gaps "Who are you anyway?"

"You can call me Tatsu. The one next to me is Hikari tte-bayo." He said motioning towards The brunette.

"tte-bayo?" the three genin swirled their heads towards the teenage boy.

"You already know who they are, so don't ask any questions." Kakashi said " And also, it's better if you fix the way you speak." he pointed out to Tatsu.

"I did that on purpose to give them a hint." Tatsu smirked

"Oh joy." Kakashi said monotonously

"Your words and actions go in the opposite direction." Tatsu countered. Kakashi just decided to ignore him.

"Your mission is to escort a certain person back to their own country." Sarutobi continued

"Really!" Naruto's eyes brightened "Who? The feudal lord? Or maybe a princess?"

"Don't be so hasty." Hiruzen advised him "I'll introduce him now."

Tatsu and Hikari almost gulped at the thought of the old man.

"Can you please come in now?" Hiruzen called towards the door. Team 7 including Tatsu and Hikari turned their heads to face towards the door. The door slowly opened to reveal an old man.

"What?! They're all kids!" He said before taking another sip of _sake_(alcohol) from the bottle he was holding.

_'Same old Tazuna.'_ Tatsu told himself

"Hey, is the smallest one there with the idiotic face really a ninja?"

"Who's the smallest one with the idiotic face?" Naruto asked laughing as he looked at Sakura and Sasuke. Said team mates shifted their eyes to look at him and then stepped closer to compare their heights.

Naruto scowled (Bingo! That's right! It's you! :P)  
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Naruto yelled trying to get closer to the old man.

"You can't kill the man we're going to be escorting, Idiot!" Kakashi said as he held Naruto back by his collar to prevent a murder.

_'So nostalgic.' _Hikari said as she giggled and glanced over to Tatsu to see if he was feeling the same. But her face got pale when she saw Tatsu's face with a very angry and sadistic glint in his eyes.

"Small?...Idiotic?..." Tatsu mumbled as he started lightly laughing in a very creepy manner. Hikari swore that she saw a black aura surrounding him.

"T-Tatsu?" Hikari asked scared to hear a response "You've got to calm down." She moved closer to Tatsu and spoke in a low voice so that no one could hear anything "I mean, you're not short and idiotic. You're tall and cool now, right?" She said, hoping that flattery would solve this problem. And surprisingly, it did.

"R-Really?" Tatsu asked pouting (not the cute way) with the dark aura.

"Yeah!" She confirmed as she vigorously moved her head up and down.

"Y-Your flattering me!" Tatsu suddenly burst out, having all heads turn towards him.

" Not so loud!" She said hurriedly trying to shush him. But seeing as he showed no sign of doing so, she gave him one of the best pinches she's ever does.

"I said quiet!" Hikari yelled as she pinched his arm and decided to twist it as a bonus.

"OU-" Tatsu was about to shout in pain but decided to silence himself by covering his own mouth.

"You should have listened to me in the first place!" Hikari said as she sighed. "Never go against me next time, okay?"

"Y-Yes ma'am." Tatsu said hesitantly as with tears in his eyes.

_' I'm having a bad impression of them already.' _Tazuna thought, utterly unimpressed.

"Ignore them." Kakashi told the old man seeing as how he felt uncomfortable "Why don't you introduce yourself?"

Tazuna nodded.

" I am known as the great bridge builder Tazuna" The drunkard introduced himself "Once I return to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge."

LATER THAT DAY

"All right!" Naruto exclaimed as he threw his hands into the air "Let's go!"

"What are you all excited for?" Sakura asked, annoyed at his childishness.

"If I remember correctly, this is your first time outside the village, right?" Tatsu asked Naruto knowingly.

"You got that right!" he said as he started looking around enthusiastically

"Hey, will a brat like this really be capable of this mission?" Tazuna asked Kakashi as he pointed towards Naruto.

"I, a jounin, will be accompanying you, so you can relax." Kakashi assured him. Meanwhile Naruto scowled while the sentence that Tazuna said kept echoing in his head.

_'This geezer is the worst client possible! I need to say something back!'_

"Oi, Geezer! Don't underestimate ninja's. I am a great ninja!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the old man "I'm the elite ninja who will receive the title of Hokage one day! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it!"

Tatsu and Hikari' s faces faulted.

"What were you thinking when you said that so enthusiastically?" Hikari whispered to Tatsu.

"Probably around the lines 'I can't let him insult me!' or something." Tatsu whispered back.

"I think he's got plenty to insult you about, if your younger self keeps on being so hot headed." Hikari sighed "Comparing both of you, I can state plenty of changes that occurred during the past 5 years."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Tatsu dryly stated as he continued watching the verbal fight.

"Isn't 'Hokage' the villages #1 ninja?" Tazuna continued lazily "I don't think a kid like you is up for it."

"Shut up! I'm willing to go through any hardship to become Hokage." Naruto shouted with anger and determination "If I become hokage then you'll have to take notice of me!"

Hikari's face softened at the younger, inexperienced and lonely Naruto.

Tazuna just snorted. "I won't, kid. Even if you do become Hokage."

"No." Hikari said out of the blue "You will respect him. Even if he doesn't become one."

At this point everyone was staring at her.

"H-Hikari?" Tatsu asked. Hikari who had noticed the strange looks she was getting blushed.

"I-I mean, when you see someone who works hard to get recognized, doesn't it already give you some sense of respect... Is what I thought..." Hikari ended the sentence awkwardly.

"Hmm... Maybe." Kakashi said in his signature monotone "Anyway, I suggest we start moving. The faster we travel, the faster we complete the mission."

With this everyone started walking towards their destination. But as they continued walking, shadows were spying on them from the bushes. Not that anyone noticed. On the way, Sakura decided to spring up a question.

"Hey, Oji-san? You're from the country of wave right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Tazuna replied with a question.

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't there any ninja in the land of waves." Sakura asked, giving attention to her teacher.

"No there aren't any ninja there." Kakashi replied plainly "But while the culture and customs of other countries may be different, hidden villages and ninja do exist."

And so Kakashi explained about the hidden villages and their respected Kage's.

"Wow! So hokage-sama must be a great man!" Sakura exclaimed.

**"Is that old geezer such a strong guy? Sounds fishy..." **Inner Sakura pondered.

_'It's definitely a lie.' _Naruto thought nodding his head

"Hey" Kakashi snapped "You all just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?"

Naruto and Sakura furiously shook their heads "N-No..."

Tatsu and Hikari sweat-dropped as they remembered what was going through their heads all those years back.

_'We were still so __naive back then.' _Tatsu thought fondly.

Kakashi patted Sakura's head "Don't worry, we won't have any ninja battles in a C-ranked mission."

"Then there's no need to worry about meeting a foreign ninja." Sakura sighed with relief.

"Of course."

Soon afterwards they passed by a puddle. Tatsu and Hikari locked eyes with a knowing look. Kakashi as well had noticed the puddle.

Suddenly from behind them chains sprang out and grabbed Kakashi. "First one "Tightening its grip Kakashi was reduced to just a few lumps of meat. Sakura screamed.

"K-Kakashi-sensei." Naruto yelled. The demon brothers were soon behind Naruto himself. "Second one."

Sasuke wasted no time and threw a shuriken and kunai, pinning the chain on a nearby tree. He jumped and landed on their shoulder, he kicked them.

_'W-Wow.' _Naruto thought. The demon brothers freed themselves, as one headed towards Naruto, the other headed towards Tazuna. Sakura who was frightened decided that it was time she stood up.

"Stand back, Oji-san." Sakura said shielding him. But before she knew it, _she_ was the one being shielded, by Sasuke. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi came and rescued them.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted. It was then that Naruto realised that Naruto had used the kawarimi. "Naruto, sorry for not coming immediately. I just didn't think you'd freeze up." He said as he walked away.

"Anyway, good job Sasuke. You too Sakura." Kakashi complimented. At that time Naruto was in his own world.

_'You're kidding me. This was his first real fight! Are you telling me that he wasn't scared at all?!'_

Sasuke turned towards Naruto "Hey, Are you hurt? Mr. Scaredy Cat?"

"S-Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, shivering with anger and humiliation.

"Naruto! There's poison on these guys' nails. We need to take it out, so don't move. We'll need to leech out the poison after opening the wound." Kakashi warned "Anyway Tazuna-san. I need to talk to you..."

Kakashi tied the demon brothers to a thick trunked tree.

"These are ninja's well known to keep fighting no matter what."

"How did you notice us?" One of them asked

"It was a puddle on a sunny day, during a season when it hadn't rained at all. A bit suspicious don't you think?"

"Why'd you let them fight knowing that?" Tazuna asked

"I didn't need to let them fight. I could have just asked the other two accompanying our team to tell me their intentions if I wanted." He stated as he looked at Tatsu and Hikari "But, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to analyze their skills. However they didn't fight at all. Nevertheless now I know that they're after you"

Tazuna looked uneasy at the deduction.

"C-rank missions do not involve ninja's." Kakashi glared "At this rate it would be an expensive B-rank mission or maybe even A-rank." Kakashi stated "You might have your reasons, but lying to us is a problem. This was not part of the mission."

"This mission is out of our league. Let's quit!" Sakura suggested with a worried expression "And we need anaesthesia to take out Naruto's Poisoned blood. Let's go back! He needs a doctor!"

Kakashi considered for a bit "That would be a burden. Let's go back."

Naruto trembled. Not in fear, not in humiliation, but because of disappointment, in himself.

"Speaking of which, how come neither of you helped out?" He asked as he looked at Tatsu and Hikari.

"Oh, well..." Hikari glanced at Tatsu.

"It's because of experience." Tatsu continued for Hikari. "If we had helped out. They would get used to being protected. We want them to get stronger, not weaker." Tatsu explained coolly " Isn't that what you want as well?" He asked Naruto as he smirked.

Naruto at first looked at him with wide eyes before smiling softly. He knew himself the best after all. Then he took out a kunai and stabbed his cut digging out the poisoned blood.

"Naruto! What are you - " Sakura started.

" I AM ALWAYS - " Naruto yelled interrupting her, but calmed down a little before continuing "I am _always _different from others. I'm not smart, not cool, and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm not as strong as I had hoped. I should be stronger. I worked so hard, training alone for days. I may not be an asset on this mission." He stated as his bangs covered his eyes "But at least I can prevent being dead weight. I won't do something that requires me to be rescued anymore. I won't back out because I'm frightened. I won't lose to Sasuke. I'll become stronger. I vow to this pain in my left hand. I'll protect the old man with this very kunai." Naruto smirked "The mission is still on."

"Naruto, it's nice that you took out the poisoned blood so spiritedly... but you're going to die if you lose any more blood." Kakashi said in monotone as he shattered the mood into tiny little pieces.

Naruto visibly started paling at this statement. His hand started trembling.

"It's not good if you don't stop it. Seriously." Kakashi smiled (Why did he smile? maybe he was enjoying naruto's reaction...?)

"No, no, no." Naruto panicked "I don't want to die like this!"

"Naruto, your personality is what we call masochism." Sakura pitched in.

"Here, let me take a look at it." Hikari said as she held out a hand in front of Naruto. Naruto stared at her briefly.

_'Oh yeah. This is the older Sakura-chan.' _Naruto remebered

He showed her his hand. Hikari put her hands over Naruto's as they lit up in a green colour.

_'W-What's she doing? It feel's kinda warm..' _

"There! You should be fine now!" Sakura smiled _'Although most of it was the Kurama-san's work.'_

"Whoa! It's healed! What did you do?!" Naruto asked excited

"It's called medical ninjutsu." Hikari answered sheepishly.

"I see... so you've become a medical ninja?" Kakashi asked Hikari.

"Yeah..."

"If that was the case, wouldn't you have been able to remove the poison out?" Tazuna asked, annoyed "You should be having the tools."

"I do.." Hikari said and then looked at Naruto "But, everyone deserves to look cool once in a while." She winked. "Right?"

Naruto lightly blushed at this comment. Sakura paled. Is this really her older self?

SOMEWHERE IN AN UNKNOWN FOREST

"FAILED?!" An old man with a rough and forbidding voice said "I spent a lot of money to hire all of you because I heard that you were all skilled ninja!"

"Stop your bickering." A man said as he took a firm hold of his massive sword and pointed it towards the old man, as the old man visibly sweated. "I'll use this decapitating 'knife' and kill that guy."

"Are you really sure you'll be okay?" The old man said shivering "The enemy seems to have hired good ninjas -five of them at that- and since the demon brothers have failed in the assassination, they'll be more cautious, so it won't be easy..."

"Who do you think I am?" The other man's voice cut in "I, Momochi Zabuza was known as the Demon of the village hidden in the mist."

* * *

**How was it? Please review. I read every single review. If you have an account on this site, and have any questions or any suggestions, please don't hesitate to tell me. I feel happy that people are taking an interest in my fanfiction *cough* daydreams *cough***


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